


High School Never Ends

by CaptorvatedMotherfucker



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Also practically all of the chapter titles are songs, Collegestuck, F/F, F/M, Humanstuck, I hope, M/M, Me being a suckish writer, Multi, WARNING some grammar errors and misspellings, but not too many, shits hard to do on a DS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-30
Updated: 2015-11-22
Packaged: 2018-01-10 14:52:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 15,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1160993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptorvatedMotherfucker/pseuds/CaptorvatedMotherfucker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurloz Makara was more than glad to be done with high school, and the douchebags associated with it. Unfortunately, he learns rather quickly that the world is basically one huge high school minus the nagging teachers and getting grounded for bad grades. On top of all that, one certain douchebag, the douchebag of all douchebags, as Mituna would say, is now his college roommate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Here We Go Again

**Author's Note:**

> Ah hahaha... What do you mean, crack ships? This is Homestuck, there is no such thing!! Also, the entire fic was inspired by High School Never Ends by Bowling For Soup. Enjoy.

Your name is Kurloz Makara, and you're more than happy to finally turn your back on the bullshittery that is high school. Though, you technically already did this three months ago when you graduated. Looking at the massive college campus in front of you, however, makes seem more official. No more dickheads. No more brainless scumbags. No more of those snooty girls who sneer at anyone who isn't wearing the "latest trends". And, more importantly, no more douchey 50s greaser wannabees. Mituna would be proud of the play on words you just made.

Skaia University of Mathematics and Arts was fucking huge. You'd already known this, having looked at an aerial map of it online, but seeing it in person was a different thing. There were many different walkways and paths, connecting all sorts of structures and buildings to one another. on these paths were people skating, biking, walking, or just sitting on one of the many benches places near the walkways. The place was pretty active despite the fact that you showed up a week before most people would. You wanted to get settled in and know how to get to your classes without getting lost. In hindsight, this was a very good idea. Now you just need to find the front office. 

As you walked, you recieved plenty of strange looks, which you ignored for the most part. You were used to them, what with you being the scary goth kid who never talks in high school. You had the unfortunate advantage of being very tall, so that combined with just about every other aspect of yourself tended to intimidate others. Occasionaly, someone will think they have what it takes to bring you down in a fight, but your dad's near abusive fighting lessons ("I ain't gonna raise a weak mother fucker who can't hold his own in a fight," Your old man would often say) proved them wrong. After that people usually left you alone. You preferred to be alone, anyways. In all, you had about three friends, not counting your brother, throughout high school. Everyone else were aquaintances who would buy weed from you on occassion. 

You finally made it to the main office, where your room key and schedule would be. You pulled a note card and pen out, in case the person working the front desk didn't understand sign language. You stepped in, immediately greeted by a blast of cold air to your face. At the front desk was a rather young girl, with super long, slightly curly hair. She stared at you for a second before smiling. 

"Hello, mister!" She greeted you rather cheerfully. "What can I assist you with today?" 

You stepped closer with a smile, and glances at her nametag. Her name was Jade. Jade looked at you expectantly, waiting for you to answer. You began signing your name slowly. Her smile fell a little. 

"I'm sorry, sir, but I can't understand what you're saying," She said, not to your surprise. You then stopped signing and put your notecard to good use 

::KURLOZ MAKARA. I NEED MY KEY AND SCHEDULE::

You slid the notecard over to her, and once she read it, she smiled. 

"Alright! Mr. Makara," Jade said, turning to the computer and typing. "Let's see... You will be in building 4, room 20, and your schedule should be printing now." 

Once the printer started going, she opened a drawer nearby, and pulled out a key. A tag attached to it labelled it as '420'. You should have seen that coming. She handed you the key, which you immediately put in your pocket, and when she handed you your schedule, you looked over it to make sure everything was in place before folding it up and putting that in your pocket as well. You readjusted the strap of your messenger bag, and turned to leave, waving at Jade. 

"Have a wonderful day, Mr. Makara!" She called after you. Once you stepped out of the main building, you looked around. You were smart enough to look at the map multiple times, so you aren't stumbling around and getting hopelessly lost. You began walking in the general direction of the dorms, passing by a couple not-so discreetly making out under a large tree. You averted your eyes and continued walking. You soon found the dorm buildings, which were arranged in a cul-de-sac fashion. They were situated near a forest, which you saw had many walking trails. Maybe you could find a nice, hidden area for you to smoke in peace. Now, though, you had to move into your new place. You'll worry about smoking later.

You mentally counted the steps as you walked up them. There were twenty-two. Mituna would like that. You could already see him attempting all sorts of tricks off the stairs. You could also see him falling on his ass more than once. A silent chuckle escapes you as you open the door. 

The inside reminded you of a hotel, only the lobby was a huge rec room. It looked like people were in there recently, since the TV was still on (Playing Invader Zim, one of your favorites), and there was a popcorn bowl that lay forgotten on the coffee table. You could hear voices coming from behind an ajar door, which you assumed led to a kitchen. You intended to avoid people for as long as you could, so you snuck quietly up to the second floor. It wasn't hard to find your room, as it was literally right next to the stairs. There were a few boxes with your name on it next to the door. They don't look like they've been gone through, which was good. You didn't feel like cracking a mother fucking skull before the semester officially started. 

You dug the key out of your pocket, and unlocked the door, pushing it open. It was a fairly decent sized room. A bunk bed was pushed into the far corner, there were two minifridges on the opposite corner, and a set of sliding doors you assumed was the closet. There was another door, which you quickly figured out was the bathroom. There was also two desks next to the bunk beds, and plenty of room to hook up a TV. This was good, considering you could already predict multiple visits from your game junkie best friend. 

You decided it was time to quit dicking around and actually bring all of your shit in. Tomorrow, your brother was going to stop by to drop off the things you couldn't bring with you on the taxi or ship over like you did with the boxes you were carrying in. Two of them were your clothes, which you immediately set about putting them away. All of your things were on the left side of the closet, which now looked like a mess of black, purple, and skeletons. The next box contained your bedding and toiletries, which you also put away. At the bottom of the box was a stuffed animal that you cherished more than anything, believe it or not. You handmade it out of other stuffed animals in middle school. It was mostly black, with litte patches of purple, yellow, and olive, one color for each person you cared dearly for. You gingerly set him on the bottom bunk, which you had claimed as your own, and looked at the fourth and final box. This was a box you did not remember packing. Curiosity won you over, and you opened it to see what was inside. The box was full of Faygo. You smiled to yourself. This must've been your brother's doing. Gamzee may be a dumbass at times, but he always seemed to know how to make others feel better. You carried the box over to the left fridge, and transferred the most wicked elixirs into them. The fridge wasn't able to hold much more when you were done. 

You sighed. You finished what you could, now all that's left to do is wait for your brother to arrive with the rest of your shit. You yawned, and it dawned on you that you were extremely tired. You had awoken extra early so you could get here at a decent time, which is never good for a night owl. Yawning again, you moved to the bed and laid down, but not before plugging your ipod into your speakers and playing something that calmed you (Mituna disagrees heavily with this statement. You played this once around him, and he had nightmares for weeks. You learned not to play "nightmare fuelling" music around him). You closed your eyes, and allowed the hauntingly beautiful voice of Chibi lull you into a state of almost-slumber. 

The sound of the door being unlocked jolted you back into awareness about an hour later. You weren't expecting to already meet your roommate, but you figured now was better than later. However, as the door opened, you could feel your face pale. You got a good look at the guy who's supposed to be your roommate, and a single thought resounded throughout your head: 

Oh mother fucking hell no.


	2. Luckiest Loser

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kurloz intimidates Cronus slightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 has been combined!!

There were countless colleges and universities throughout the country. Within your state alone, about 7 or 8. Your college alone had over 70,000 students. Of course, your luck had to have evaporated sometime in Senior year, because your new roommate was none other than Cronus Ampora, douchebag extraordinare. Your messiahs must be laughing as they looked down on you. 

He wasn't too thrilled either. 

"'a course. I'm stuck with you," He sighed, running a hand through his overly gelled hair. "Well, at least you won't talk in your sleep." 

You raised an eyebrow at him. He was one of the few who were daring enough to talk shit about you, but he never said anything to you face-to-face, aside from pointing out how quiet and/or creepy you seem to be. Cronus was sporting a grimace which was directed at you. You kept a neutral expression as the silent staredown continued. Finally, he broke eye contact, looking away. You were always good at staring contests. 

"Listen, chief. I'm pretty sure this is as unbearable for you as it is for me, so let's just keep the tension to a minimum and go about our business with as little confrontation as possible, huh?" 

You thought about his proposition for a second, before nodding agreement. That arrangement would work well enough for you. He seemed relieved that you agreed. However, you had something to tell him. You pulled out another notecard, and wrote in your usual all-capitals (It was the only way Mituna could read your handwriting). 

::TOUCH MY SHIT AND YOU WILL BE VISITING YOUR FAMILY IN A BODYBAG :0) :: 

You crumpled up the notecard and threw it at him, managing to get him on the forehead. He cursed, and took the crumpled ball, smoothing it out so he could read it. You pretended not to notice him pale slightly.

"A-Alright, chief," He said, setting down the notecard. "Just as long as nothing of mine gets touched." 

You threw another notecard at him. 

::NO WORRIES. I'M NOT ALL AND WILLING TO BE CATCHIN' WHATEVER FLESH-ROTTING DISEASE YOU HAVE:: 

He scoffed, "Yes, real mature, Makara. Rude."

You then decided it was a better idea to start pretending he didn't exist, so you turned up the volume of the speakers, and switched artists to Slipknot. Maybe he'll get the hint and bugger off. Unluckily for you, he seemed pretty intent on staying for now, as his back was turned to you, putting his clothes away. You took the time to casually check him out. He might have the worst attitude in the world, but you had to admit he was pretty hot. And he had a nice ass.

You felt gross for checking him out like that, so you looked away, your eyes settling on your messenger bag. Inside it was your laptop and your sketchbook. You got up to retrieve the latter of the two, as well as your charcoals. You had the sudden and overwhelming urge to draw. You'll admit that your preferred medium of art was quite messy, but since a good deal of your wardrobe was black, it didn't matter that you rubbed your stained hands on them. 

You opened the sketchbook to a blank sheet, staring at it for a second. Then, as if your hand had a mind of its own, the charcoal stick in your hands began to rough out the shape of a bird. You became completely engrossed in your work, to the point that Slipknot became a faint background hum, despite how loud you had set it. Feathers were added in a fashion that gave the bird a sleek look, and you decided that it was going to be a crow. You vaguely remember hearing about a guy at school who kept a bunch of crows atop his apartment building. The memory was gone as soon as it entered your mind, and you were now working on the skull it was sitting on, adding horns to show that it once belonged to a goat. You finished shading and smudging where appropriate, and signed it with your signature, a clown smileyface. Slowly, the rest of the world came back into focus, and Cronus was staring at you. It may have been because of how dim it was, but you thought you saw concern ghosting his expression. You tilted your head to the side in a silent question.

"I was askin' if ya wanted somethin' to eat. I'm about to run down to Burger King an' get somethin' for myself..." He trailed off, seemingly embarrassed that he asked. The corner of your mouth quirked up slightly, and you grabbed a notecard. 

::CHICKEN SANDWICH AND SOME FRIES. NO DRINK. :: You fished out a five dollar bill and a one, handing both the money and the notecard to him. He read the notecard, and then put them in his pocket. 

"Thanks for not throwin' it at me, chief," He said. "I'll be back in a few." 

And he was out the door, leaving you to your thoughts.

You looked around the room. Since Cronus arrived, there were a few new things added to the room. A black electric guitar was resting on its stand by the minifridges. Next to it was an amp and another guitar, this one an acoustic. Seeing it made you wish you brought your bass with you instead of entrusting it to your brother so he could deliver it tomorrow. You pray to the messiahs a severe punishment on your brother if it gets damaged in any way. 

It seemed that Cronus understood your way of thinking when you chose the leftmost side of everything that was supposed to be split up in the room, as there was a backpack and a piece of paper on the right part of the desk. Curious, you got up to see what the paper was, rubbing your charcoal-stained hands on your Tripps. It was his schedule. It turned out that he was majoring in Music Arts, which was your minor. You opted to major in Visual Arts instead. You pulled your schedule out of your pocket, getting black finger smudges on it, and compared the two. You only had one class together, thankfully, and that was Music 101 with a Mr. Droog. You thought it was an amusing name. You turned away from the desk, and shoved your schedule back into the pocket it was previously occupying. If you wanted to properly snoop, you'd have to wash your hands first, else you'd leave evidence. You did just that, and once your hands were satisfyingly squeaky clean, you began your investigation. 

First stop for the investigation was his half of the closet. You nudged the doors open, and saw that, compared to yours, his clothes were put in rather neatly. The majority of his shirts were plain white T-shirts, and he mostly had jeans. He must be very intent on looking like a greaser 24/7. There were also a few leather jackets, one of them with studs and spikes on the collar. His shoes were neatly set beside one another, and you were certain you saw some slacks not-so-hidden among the sea of Chuck Taylors. Why would one man have so many pairs of the exact same shoe? The concept was lost to you, as you only had four pairs, most of them tattered from being well loved. Thinking about shoes made you realize that you never removed your combat boots from your feet. You did so now, and tossed them unceremoniously into your side of the closet before closing the doors.

You walked over to the desk again, curious to see what was in his bag. The biggest pouch had a lock on it, unfortunately. You didn't bother with trying. You were just about to reach for the smallest zipper before you heard the door being unlocked. You retracted your hand and swiftly walked back to where you were sitting with your charcoals. Cronus walked in with a fast-food bag and a cup, assumingly for himself, since you told him not to get you one. You waved at him. 

"Yeah, hey," He said, sounding irritated. "I swear it's like everyone from Louisiana was on the road today. I almost got hit three times. Three!" 

He tossed his keys onto his desk as he walked over to you, handing you what you ordered, as well as the six dollars you gave him. You raised an eyebrow at him. 

"Don't expect it to happen again, alright? I just wasn't in the mood to try and split up the change as accurately as possible." 

You shrugged, pocketing the money. You walked over to your fridge and pulled out a Grape Faygo, opening it. After taking a swig, you sat down on the floor, along with your foodstuffs. Cronus was looking at you, shocked. This earned another head tilt from you. 

"How in the hell did you already fill your fridge up? With that Faygo stuff, might I add?" He asked, as if it was an impossible feat. You shrugged, smirking as you took a swig of your drink. A notecard hit him on the shoulder. 

::MAGIC MOTHER FUCKIN MIRACLES:: 

He groaned at your response. 

"I wonder why I bother to even ask if I already know your answers make no sense." 

You shrugged as you shoved some fries in your mouth like the total slob you aren't. Cronus rolled his eyes, and turned his attention to whatever the hell he ordered, some kinda salad, and began to eat it. You sat there in your usual silence, eating and looking at your crow drawing. You looked up at the walls. They were painfully bare and white. 

You wiped your fingers on a napkin, and went to dig around in your messenger bag. You found a roll of tape, which was specifically put in there for situations such as bare walls, and you picked up your sketchbook. You could feel eyes on you, but you ignored them. You ripped out your most recent drawing, taping it up on the wall above the minifridges. You repeated this action, flipping through and picking out sketches at random, until three quarters of your finished drawings were arranged in a messy collage fashion on the wall before you. Your sketchbook was noticeably smaller now.

"Wow," Cronus said suddenly, clapping slowly. "Now we've got a little art gallery of twisted shit up on the wall. I'm guessing you're an art major?" 

You flipped him off.


	3. 99 Biker Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gamzee and a few friends arrive to help Kurloz get settled in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 combined!!

It wasn't until you opened your eyes the next morning that you thought it important to tell Cronus that people were coming over today. It also would have been pretty important to let him know that most of them did not like Cronus at all. Well, better late than never. 

::MY BRO IS COMING OVER ALONG WITH MY FRIENDS, SO I SUGGEST MAKIN' YOURSELF SCARCE::

Cronus raised an eyebrow at you, before asking, "An' if I don't feel like makin' myself scarce?" 

::THEN I'LL MAKE YOU SCARCE::

And that was how you managed to convince Cronus Ampora to spend some time out of the room while your friends visited.

In total, there were four people coming over. Your brother, of course being one of them. There was also Meulin, one of your close friends. She was also going to your school as an aspiring scriptwriter/actress. Mituna was also coming, and he was without a doubt your best friend. He was studying to be a maths major, also in the same school. And then, none other than Karkat was coming, as well. You honestly were not expecting to make friends with The Insufferable's younger brother, but he was very amusing, and the two of you got along well. That, and he was Gamzee's "MoThErFuCkInG BeSt fRiEnD," so it was near impossible not to have met him at least once.

You were lost in memories of hanging with your friends, when the sound of aggressive knocking brought you down to Earth. 

"CARLOS! HURRY THE HELL UP AND OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR BEFORE I BREAK IT DOWN," Came an unmistakable voice on the other side. You got up to open the door, and as soon as you did, you were attacked by two certain somebodies. You made a muffled 'Oompf' noise as you tried and failed to keep your balance. Meulin and Mituna were both wrapped around you, both hugging you tightly. 

"Aww man, I wanna get in on this cuddle pile. Hold the fuck up," You could hear your brother say as he tried to join. Karkat had a grip on the back of his shirt to keep him in place, however. 

"Don't you even dare. Pretty sure Catgirl and Mituna are giving him enough affection. Any more, and he might explode in a mess of bones and fucking stitches," Karkat warned. Gamzee pouted, and was going to say something before Mituna butt in. 

"Stop bee-ing all kranky, little Vantass!" He practically yelled in your ear, making you wince. "Sorry, Kurly."

You managed to free yourself from the two death grips, standing up. Luckily, everyone here knew sign language, either out of necessity or being forced to by an older sibling (Karkat), so you didn't need to pull out a notecard. 

+MOTHER FUCKER, MY NAME IS K-U-R-L-O-Z, NOT C-A-R-L-O-S+

"I know, but I don't care, Carlos," Karkat said indignantly. You huffed, and waved him off. Mituna was looking through Cronus' shit, making a face. 

"Yo-you gotz that d-bag Pornus for a roommate?? Uncool," Mituna made a gagging sound as he dropped whatever he was holding. You shrugged, signing +BETTER ME THAN YOU+

"Good point," Mituna swiftly nodded his agreement. "Okay, okay, fuckers! Let's... Let's get this shit DONE!" 

"Meowtuna, we all know you won't do anypurring," Meulin pointed out. 

"... I'm supa-supervising," He said, crossing his arms. You smiled a little, and began walking out of the room, along with Karkat and Gamzee.

With the four of you (Mituna "supervised," whilst playing Pokemon on his DS) working together, you were able to get your TV, the consoles you kept only for Mituna's sake, and two boxes full of assorted DVDs and videogames. You were pleased to find that your bass survived the endeavor without so much as a scratch. You set it up, along with its amp, as far away from Cronus' guitars as was possible, while not obstructing paths. This meant they were right beside his. You left a sticky note on the amp that said, "TOUCH THE BASS, AND YOU'LL BE MISSING A FEW LIMBS." 

That should give him ample warning. Meulin and Mituna left in search of the main office, with promises of returning after they had each found their rooms. This left you with a Karkat who was glaring at Gamzee and uttering obscenities at him while your brother ignored them and just hugged him tightly. A loud "HONK" coming from your brother told you that he was just elbowed.

It had been three hours since Mituna and Meulin had gone off, and you were beginning to get very worried. The fact that one of them was deaf, and the other had mental disorders did not help your nerves at all. You had begun to pace back and forth, unable to keep still. Gamzee and Karkat had both noticed your unease, and Gamzee had elected to go out and look for them. That left you alone with Karkat, who was trying to distract you by explaining why 50 First Dates isn't as shitty as you had claimed it to be. He was cut off by the sound of the door opening. You looked up, hoping to see Gamzee with your two best friends, but instead it was Cronus. You didn't bother to hide your disappointment as you looked back down at the floor, still pacing. 

"What's up with him?" You could hear Cronus ask.

"Would you even fucking care if I told you?" Karkat snappily responded. Cronus merely shrugged, and you almost punched him in the face for being so insensitive. It boiled your blood when he claimed to be a sensitive guy and then turn around and act like the complete opposite. You growled a little.

"Did he just fuckin growl at me?" Cronus asked. 

"Not suprised. In case you were oh-so unaware, he fucking hates you, and your presence is clearly not helping right now," Karkat stood up, gesturing to the door. "Now, if you'll kindly fuck off and revel in your twisted inflated ego somewhere that's anywhere but fucking here."

Though most of what Karkat said was true, you kinda felt bad for kicking the other out. He didn't even know why you were stressed. You shook your head at Karkat, who sighed in defeat. 

"Fine, you can stay, but if you so much as look at me in a sexual manner, I'm filing a damn restraining order."

You chuckled lightly at what Karkat had said, and Cronus rolled his eyes, saying, "Please, chief. Ya gotta give me more credit than that. I am not as desperate as you blokes make me out to be. I have standards." 

Karkat snorted. 

"Of course you do. It must have at least two legs, and be sentient." 

"Ouch, Vantas. Just, ouch. An' just what the hell are you sniggering about, clownface?" Cronus' gaze turned to you. You had been snickering quietly as you listened to Karkat hurl insults at Cronus. Little guy had a way with words just like his brother. You shrugged at Cronus, quickly composing yourself. Cronus rolled his eyes, and went to the bathroom, apparently to take a piss. Just then, Gamzee strolled in ever so casually, the two missing friends in tow. Relief immediately washed over you, and you were quickly signing away, asking where they were and what the hell happened. You were signing too fast for Mituna to keep up (You later apologized for that), but Meulin was responding in rapid sign as well, explaining that they had put Mituna in a girl's dorm, and it took a little while to sort it out, and then find their rooms. Everyone else in the room was watching the two of you with slightly confused expressions.

The toilet flushed, and Cronus walked out, pausing as he realized there were more people in the room. An oily grin made its way onto his face as he walked over to Mituna. 

"Well, well, well..." He said, stopping just in front of your best friend. Mituna stared up at him, obviously breathing heavily, before screaming and running out of your dorm room. God damnit.

Your name is Kurloz Makara, and you were never this ready to punch a certain someone's fucking face in. But first, you had to chase after your best friend, and hope that he doesn't hurt himself before you got to him.


	4. White Flag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kurloz finds and comforts his best friend. Also, a resolution is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I didn't forget about this. Sorry for not updating sooner. Chapter 4 combined!!

Mituna absolutely detested Cronus on most days. Sometimes, though, he'll be a little more tolerant and nice of Cronus' antics, but those days were, indeed, rare. Usually, whenever they interacted, Mituna would inevitably scream and run away. When he did this, he either disappeared off to the closest skatepark, or he simply went to his room. He refuses to talk to anyone aside from you, which meant that you were the only one who could calm the other. You didn't see any reason to complain. Really, all you wanted to do after comforting him is kick the greaser's mother fuckin' teeth in. 

You were certain that Mituna hadn't yet scoped out a "wickedly rad" skatepark, which means that he's probably in his new dorm room, if he didn't get lost. You pulled out your phone to ask Meulin where Mituna's room was, but it seemed like she knew you'd need it, as there was already a message from her, which contained his room number. Building 2, Room 2. You began walking to the building labelled "2," looking around for a lost Mituna as you went. So far, there was no sign of him, meaning that either he remembered where his room was, or he'd gotten terribly lost. You were seriously hoping it was the former.

You had gotten to the building successfully without seeing Mituna anywhere. You weren't going to allow yourself to worry too much until you found out whether or not he was in his room. The building was much similar to your own, with the exception that there were dorm rooms on the first floor as well. Luckily, that made it easier to find your best friend's room. You walked up to his door, and knocked. The person who answered was not Mituna, so you'd assumed that he was his roommate. The dude was very blonde, so much that it almost hurt to look at, and was wearing aviators that concealed his eye color. He stared at you, not in the slightest bit weirded out by you. You only smiled and waved slightly. You cursed yourself for forgetting a notecard. 

"I'm just gonna assume you're here to see bee-boy. I'm certain I don't remember asking for a skeletal male prostitute, unless my bro put you up to this. If he di--" 

You held up a hand to silence him, shaking your head and pointing towards a lump on the top bunk you could only assume to be Mituna.

"Alright. Hey, Mituna, your juggalo boyfriend is here," The shades guy said half-heartedly. You rolled your eyes and pushed him out of the way, making your way to Mituna. You gently tapped him, and he looked out from under the covers. He smiled. 

"Hey, Kurloz," He said, butchering your name a little. "I almost got lost, but my r-roommate... uh, Dave, he helped me." 

+DID YOU ALL AND THANK THE LITTLE PUNK?+

He paused, trying to remember, before shouting, "THANKS, DAVE!" He then turned to you and nodded. You chuckled and patted his head. 

+ARE YOU GONNA ALL AND BE MOTHER FUCKIN' ALL RIGHT?+

"Hell yes!" Mituna exclaimed. "Now, uh... You don't haveta wo-worry 'bouts me." 

This was his way of telling you it was okay to leave him be. You smiled, and kissed his forehead in a platonic loving notion. You waved to him as you left his room, happy that he was not hurt.

Now, you were going to make someone else hurt. That someone had overstepped his boundaries for the last time. You might just make soup out of Cronus Ampora's innards. Name the dish "Fishy Surprise". You snorted, an amused smile finding its way onto your face.

On the walk back to your dorm, you had mulled over what had happened. Since Cronus technically did nothing to Mituna that was potentially harmful, you decided to let Cronus off with a light warning. This meant you were going to punch that fucker's face. Seemed fair enough to you. But... He /did/ go out and get your dinner for you yesterday... Okay, so you decided not to punch his handsome-- oh hell no you did not just think that.

Shaking your head to clear any thoughts pertaining to Cronus' looks, you walked back into the dorm, seeing that two guys were sitting on one of the Common's couches, watching My Little Pony. One of them you vaguely recognized as Horuss (He'd graduated from your high school the year before you), and the other one had these pointy anime shades that you thought looked ridiculous. Neither of them looked at you, so you took this opportunity to abscond back the fuck to your room. 

As you expected, Cronus was in there. He was messing around on his guitar, not looking up when you came in. 

"Hey," He said. "Your bro and your friends left earlier. Wanted to get back in time for somethin' or other. Nice bass, by the way. Is it a Peavey?" 

He looked up in time to see you nod, and then immediately went back to work tuning it. Seeing him do so gave you the urge to play on your bass as well, and you did just that, easily crossing the room in three strides (Meanwhile, Dave and Dirk simultaneously sneezed), picking up your bass delicately, as if handling a small child. It has been in your possession for over ten years, and it looks as though you'd only received it yesterday. Unlike your brother, you looked after your things very well. You hooked the thing up to your amp, and sat on the floor in front of it, spending the next half hour tuning it to perfection. Once you had done that, you absentmindedly ran your hand up and down the neck, playing a few notes here and there, before playing for real. You never wrote out your music, preferring to keep it all in your head (You used to write your music, but a case of attempted plagiarism made you begin relying on your memory). You selected one at random, and began to play it. It was a rather short piece, so you played it over and over, fingers working expertly to get every note without fail. The third time around, you noticed another instrument playing alongside yours.

It seemed that Cronus had a stroke of inspiration, and was now piecing together a work that accompanied yours. Cronus was actually pretty skilled, and you almost felt bad for thinking that he only said he played the guitar just to pick up more chicks (Which he did not). Now that you thought about it, you actually didn't know too much about him. You looked up for a second, only to see him looking at you as well. Only, he wasn't looking directly at you. He was concentrating on your hands as you played, as if trying to predict your next note so as to mimic it or come up with a note that would go well with it. 

It was then that you decided that you actually wanted to know him a little better.


	5. Sweet Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the last chapter was a little short (Well, it was by my standards), but I'm making it up by giving this chapter three parts and a timeskip. Of course, once I get to a computer all three parts will be combined to one hugeass chapter. Shit may or may not go down, since I'm literally writing all of this and immediately publish whatever bullshit my brain spews. Slight Donnie Darko spoiler warning.

It has been three months since you made that little vow. School started, the workload wasn't as bad as the high school teachers were telling you it would be, and you have succeeded in learning more about your roommate.The first thing you learned was that he was painfully meticulous about how he looked. He spent at least two hours in the bathroom every morning, and he was always awake before you. Needless to say, you've yet to witness Cronus before he's done his prepping, which you suspect is something he's trying to keep from ever happening. 

Another thing you noted was that he shared your affinity for grape flavored items. You considered this an in-between thing, because he won't give you shit about it, but you run the risk of your grape jolly ranchers (You buy like three bags and pull all the grape ones out to put in a separate bag. The red and blue ones you gave to Mituna, and you just abandoned the rest, leaving them on top of your minifridge for whomever) mysteriously disappearing. You've taken to hiding them after a similar incident occured.

One more thing you learned was that he was actually pretty decent once you got past his flirtatious tendencies and his hypocracies. You had a rather hard time admitting this to yourself, mainly because he antagonizes your best friend. However, the proof lived and breathed in the same room as you, so you accepted it. Over the course of the three months, the two of you had become friends. He doesn't call you a creep as often, and when he does, you can tell he doesn't mean it anymore. 

You know that Mituna does not approve of you being friends with his tormentor, but he knows better than to try to convince you not to be. He was well aware of your ability to be extremely stubborn when you chose to be, so he just decided to completely ignore it. You had noticed that Cronus had also lessened his "teasing" of Mituna to the point where the other can actually stand him a little. 

All in all, these last three months were interesting. You started college, made an unexpected friend, and had also found someone to play your bass with. The two of you have made an unspoken agreement to spend every Saturday evening tuning and playing your respective instruments together. These little sessions were just about the only time Cronus didn't strike up a conversation with you, as he had a habit of doing while you were sketching, and you greatly appreciated it. He was good at matching whatever notes you played, much so that you're almost certain he can see into the future to see what crazy shit you're about to play. None of what you do is written, so whenever you play something you've done before, he plays whatever he's come up with to match it. This led you to make the conclusion that he has an impeccable memory.

On occasions, he'd have his other friends come over, the more frequent one being Meenah Peixes. She had also gone to your school, but she was a year your senior. She wasn't wierded out by your appearance in the slightest, but you had a suspicion that it was because of the way she herself was. Her hair was relatively short aside from the two long as hell braids she had running down to the backs of her knees, and she dressed in a punkish fashion. Her speaking was punctuated with fish puns, and a British accent. She was an amusing individual. His other friends you didn't particularly like, so you tended to visit Mituna's room while they were over.

Today was such a day that Meenah was over. She and Cronus sat on the couch, you on the floor in front of it, watching Donnie Darko. It was one of your favorite movies. You had insisted upon watching it when you got blank looks from the others when making a reference. You were totally not obsessed.

"This movie's confishin', 'Loz," Meenah said about halfway through. "An' that evil bunny looks like somefin from one a' your Halloween codstume ideas."

::I WAS ACTUALLY PLANNING ON DOIN' THAT. ONLY PROBLEM IS, I AIN'T SO MOTHER FUCKIN' SKILLED AT SEWING OR METAL WORKIN':: 

She snorted when she read the note. "You're all kinds of fishy."

You then shushed her so you could watch the movie. You've seen the movie about a million times, but you haven't recently. You make a note to remember why that is later. It's movie time. Too soon, though, the movie is over. You frown a little. You turn your head slightly to see that Cronus had a concentrated look on his face, and Meenah "had somefin in her eyes". You raised an eyebrow, waiting for someone to say something. At last, someone did. 

"Well, I liked it more than I thought I would," Cronus said. "But it'll never replace The Outsiders." 

"Fuckin' hadda die. I was really likin' that beach, an' he just dies!" Meenah exclaimed, pouting. You chuckled silently, and glanced over at the clock. It was pretty late, even for you. You pointed this out to the others by nudging and pointing. 

"Whale shit, I gotta go. Later, Crodick, Kurloz," She sniggered as she stood up, kicking Cronus' shin before leaving. Cronus glared at the door, saying a few choicely kind words in retaliation whilst rubbing his knee. You stood up, walking over to your closet to discard your pants and shirt. You did not find a single fuck to give when it came to changing in front of others, but then again you never did. You pulled on a pair of black pajama pants with grey polka dots, and stayed shirtless. You never slept with a shirt on. You usually slept only in boxers, but you were kind enough to spare Cronus the sight of that in the morning. 

You tapped Cronus on the back of his head, your way of saying goodnight, as he went to change as well. 

"Yeah, g'night to you too, freak," He chuckled a little, and you pretended you didn't notice his eyes linger on your bare chest. You plopped down on your bed, taking a deep breath, and then sighing. You slipped under the covers and closed your eyes. You soon heard Cronus flick off the light switch and climb onto the top bunk. You could feel yourself drifting off into dreamland, suddenly remembering why you didn't watch Donnie Darko in a long time. However, you were too close to sleep to warn Cronus about the horrorterrors already taking root into your mind.

==> Be Cronus Ampora for a little while

Your name Is Cronus Ampora, and you've just awoken from your beauty sleep to the most terrifying noise in your life. You're pretty certain it's screaming. That was never a good thing. You almost fell off the top bunk in an attempt to run over to the window and see who needed saving or whatever. Only there was no one out there. The only other way the screaming could be that loud would be if that person was inside the room. This couldn't be, since you were certain that he didn't have vocal chords. Until now.

You immediately checked on Kurloz, and you were now certain that he did, in fact, have vocal chords. You suddenly felt your heart drop when you realized that he must be having a nighmare. You would find that odd if you didn't already realize that you had feelings for the mime. You decided to try to wake him. 

"Kurloz," You raised your voice a little as you sorta kneeled beside him and called his name. He was still thrashing about and screaming, apparently having not heard you. It must be pretty bad if he's acting like that. You mustered up your courage, and began shaking his shoulders, calling his name again, louder this time. Still wouldn't wake up. You shook harder, and was practically yelling his name. 

His eyes flew open and he sat up so quickly it startled you. He was breathing heavily, staring forward. 

"Hey, chief," You gently nudged his shoulder, and he turned to look at you. You pretended that his terrified expression did not pull at your heart. "Are you alright?"

He continued to stare at you, before he pulled you into a tight embrace you were not expecting in the slightest. You could feel that he was trembling pretty bad, and you hesitantly hugged him. You were afraid he'd punch your face in if you ever so much as lay a finger on him, but right now seemed to be an exception. He had a pretty tight grip, but it was relaxed enough to where you could breathe easy. His head was resting on your shoulder, and you had begun rubbing his back, promising yourself to stop if he reacted negatively. He didn't. Instead, he only relaxed more, leaning himself against you a little. He had stopped trembling. This was good, you supposed. 

You could soon tell that he had fallen back asleep, as his breathing wasn't erratic anymore, and he was leaning his full weight against you, which was surprisingly lighter than you thought. You peeked down and, sure enough, he was asleep. You thought that he looked absolutely wonderful underneath that make-up he seemed so fond of. And seeing his sleeping face made it all the better. You wanted to kiss him, but you also wanted to live. You gently stroked his hair. If he were awake, you'd probably be missing this hand, but you just couldn't help it. His hair was so soft. 

You couldn't just hold him like this for the whole night unfortunately, since you needed sleep, and you didn't want Kurloz angry at you in the morning. You reluctantly slipped out of his grip, laying him down as gently as possible. You climbed back into your bed, and fell asleep as soon as your head hit the pillow. You dreamed of juggalos and screaming mimes that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp


	6. Lately

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I'm an updating machine. Back to Kurloz's point of view.

Cronus went on as usual. You woke up to him tuning his acoustic guitar, and he gave you a smile. 

"Ah, the prince awakes. You slept in a little later than usual. Our class is in about an hour, so you should probably hurry up," He said, as if he had no idea you'd been woken up from a nightmare and comforted. You sighed and lazily flipped him off, stumbling out of bed and towards the bathroom. You turned on the faucet, splashing cold water into your face to wake yourself up a little. Then, you went about your usual routine, brushing your teeth, trying and failing to do the same to your hair, pulling on a shirt before you apply your facepaint (Don't want it to get messy while trying to apply a shirt), applying said facepaint, and then cleaning up after yourself and getting the rest of your clothes on. All in all, your usual routine only took about twenty minutes, and by thirty minutes of being awake, you had a Faygo in hand, your bass in the other, and whatever else you needed for today's classes. Cronus whistled at you, and you lightly shoved him with tne hand holding your Faygo. 

The two of you walked to class together, him sending dumb pickup lines your way and you returning with lewd gestures which he'd laugh at. So far, your typical Monday afternoon. Until you reach the door of your shared class. He stops you, his face going serious. 

"Okay, now let's be serious adults for a sec," He said. You were beginning to feel nervous, an alien feeling to you. You've never had to be nervous, except whenever you don't hear from Mituna after a certain amount of time. "Are you all right? Like, really alright?" 

You knew that he was referring to the nightmare from last night, and how freaked out you had been as a result. You nodded tentatively, and he didn't bother to hide a relieved smile. It was wierd when he had a smile like that directed toward you, but you pushed the feeling away and returned the smile with a small one of your own. 

"Good. Now, let's get to class before Mr. Strider gives us shit," He patted your shoulder and the both of you entered the classroom, choosing to sit in the far back as usual. 

The music teacher appeared to be staring at the both of you (You could never tell with the shades), before marking the both of you present on the roster in bright orange pen. In mannerisms and personality, the eldest Strider was similar to his brothers. However, he was the only Strider with the brightest of red hair. Dirk and Dave had the platinum blonde locks. You never bothered wondering how the fuck that came to be (Aside from human anatomy, Biology never was your strong suit), and instead just did your work like the good little university student you were not, occasionally glancing at the greaser next to you as he took notes.

After class had ended, this time with lesser threats on throwing a shitty sword at someone for not paying attention (even fewer times where Mr. Strider made good on that promise, though he purposefully missed by an inch each time), you and Cronus had decided to stop at one of the many cafes on campus, since you had yet to eat and coffee was hot, and the weather was so fucking cold. You almost sang praises when you walked into the cafe, but that would've been rediculous since you were a mute and could not possibly do that (You actually could, but you didn't want to).

When the two of you made it to the counter, you were dismayed to find that the usual person (He could understand sign language) was replaced by a girl who was so fake you could've sworn you could smell the faint scent of plastic radiating from her. She chewed her gum noisily and asked you what you wanted. You wrote down your usual request of Lavender Chamomile tea as well as a rather chocolaty looking cupcake that could give you diabetes just from looking at it for too long. She raised an eyebrow at you as you slid her the note, just now taking the time to eye you and try to fit you into a title. Your usuals were "Juggalo" and "Freak," but this girl seemed to be filing you under the rare but accurate "Pothead". After Cronus placed his order, and the both of you paid, you walked over with Cronus to sit at a table near the window. 

"What a bitch," Cronus said, obviously talking about the plastic girl. You snorted in silent laughter.

::MOTHER FUCKER SMELLED LIKE BARBIE OR SOME SHIT::

"I was wonderin' what that smell was. Too plastic-y to be an actual human bein'. Promise me you'll never do somethin' like that, all right?"

::MAYBE I WILL. I'LL ALL AND BE THE RIGHTEOUS JUGGALO KEN::

He laughed harder at that, shaking his head repeatedly, saying, "No, ya might give Tuna nightmares." 

You nodded in agreement, shaking slightly from laughter. A different worker came and delivered your beverages and your cupcake, so you immediately went to eating it. When you were finished with it, Cronus started laughing again. 

"Jeez, you're a messy eater, Kurloz," He joked, handing you a napkin. You made a half-assed attempt at a glare while you cleaned yourself, being mindful of your facepaint. Once you finished, you delicately set the napkin down and elegantly flipped him off. 

"Not in front 'a all these people, babe," He said with a wink. You rolled your eyes and lowered the offending appendage. He chuckled a little again.

"So, if ya don't mind me askin'," He said after a bit of comfortable silence. "Why don't you talk?" 

You felt your entire being go rigid when he asked that, as if a bullet had just ripped its way through you. You made no movements. You didn't reach for the pencil. You didn't sign. You didn't even glare at him. You could feel his unease from you staring at him like that, and he looked down, apparently feeling ashamed. Finally, you grabbed your cup of tea, only half full, and left. 

But not before dropping a note into his lap.

::MOTHER DOES NOT LIKE THE SOUND OF MY VOICE::

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided that any University teachers I mention are gonna be the sprites. So, Davesprite is their music teacher. Fight me. Also ooo dark pasts


	7. Cumulus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The past rears its ugly head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it wasn't already apparent, this is gonna mostly be a flashback chapter.

You were not going to allow Cronus to see you in such a vulnerable state yet again. And you certainly were not going to break down in public. You didn't want the attention it would bring. Most of all, you did not want pity. You didn't want for people to look at you with those goddamned eyes as if they understood what you went through. You hated it then, and you hated it now. 

You were in a forest, trudging inwards further and further, rubbing your hands together for warmth. When you deemed that you've gone in deep enough, you collapsed under an oak tree, its branches providing ample protection from the bright sun. You hated it when it was cold and very sunny. It just shouldn't go together. 

You closed your eyes, and let out a shuddering sigh, leaning your head against the rough bark of the trunk. As you'd predicted, the memories washed over you, playing in chronological order as if his life were a documentary.  
-.-.-  
You are now Kurloz Makara, age 7. You had just woken up from a nightmare, and you were searching for your mother for comfort. Rubbing your eyes, you reached out to the doorknob of her and Dad's room, when you heard yelling. Her's was high-pitched, almost screetching obscenities at your father. His yelling was gruff, and had more of a growl to it. It terrified you more than the nightmares. 

You turned on your heel, swiftly but quietly hurrying into your five-year-old baby brother's room. Once again, you had to resort to him for comfort instead of your own mother. You crawled into bed with him, not knowing that this would be the last time you'd see your brother for five years.  
-.-.-  
You are still Kurloz Makara, but you are a little older. Your twelfth birthday went by much like it had been for the past few years. Ignored. You mentally wished yourself a happy birthday, and tried to avoid your Mother's wrath. After your dad had left with Gamzee, your mom had turned to alcohol for comfort, and she had turned mean. Without anyone else there, you were screamed at on a daily basis. She hated you. She hated the way you look. She hated your mannerisms, your personality, everything. Most of all though, she hated your voice. If you so much as uttered a word, she would have pinned you down in a heartbeat, screaming and hitting and kicking. You had stopped talking altogether at age ten, even at school. You were afraid that she would somehow hear you talking to your friends, and she'd attack you in front of everyone. The other kids would laugh at you more than they already did, thanks to your facepaint (Even though you'd stopped wearing it a long time ago). 

Despite all of this, you still loved your mother, even if you were deathly afraid of her. You cooked breakfast and dinner for the both of you, served both meals to her with a stoic expression as she mustered up all of the hatred she could into one, piercing glare directed at you. You had taken to eating sitting crosslegged on the floor, since a fork went through your hand last time you sat at the table with your mother. You never made eye contact with her, or finished after her. You had to be done before she was, or else you'd get in trouble for eating too slow. 

Today, when you came home from school, however, she was in the kitchen, cooking. You found this odd, since she never set foot in there other than to grab a beer. She was smiling whilst cooking, which was even more odd. You've never seen her smile since your seventh birthday. You took of your shoes and tentatively set your bag down. When she finally heard you, she turned to face you, her smile growing wider. 

"Kurloz! Welcome home! How was your day at school?" She asked you for the first time in five years. You smiled hesitantly and gave her a thumbs-up. You'd been teaching yourself sign language whenever you could get free time, but you weren't quite good at it yet, and you were certain your mother couldn't understand it. 

"That's great, now c'mon, get yourself washed up for dinner, it's gonna be a little early today." 

You nodded, and immediately went to do as you were told. Mother was in an unusually good mood, and you were not going to spoil it. When you returned, she had the table set, and ahe beckoned you to sit down at the table with her. She had made your favorite, green bean casserole. A cup of juice sat beside both plates, and once you had sat down, the both of you began eating. It was mostly silent, aside from the gulping noises she made when she drank her juice. Once she set down her now-empty glass, she smiled at you. 

"Dear, you haven't touched your juice at all! That's very much unlike you! Go on, take a drink of it. It's not gonna bite you." 

You complied, more out of fear than anything. It tasted terribly off, but you downed half of it to please your mother. This seemed to make her rather giddy. You then realized she had just poisoned you.

"Now we can be a perfect little family together," Your mother said in her sickly sweet tone. Those were her last words to you as she began foaming at the mouth. You could feel yourself getting dizzy as you got up from the table, and tried to get to the home phone nearby. Your brain was fuzzy, and you felt as though you'd lost control of your limbs. You heard a thud from behind you, which you assumed to be your mother's head hitting the table. You shakily reached out for the phone in a desperate attempt to call 911.

Your vision blurred as you tried multiple times to press the buttons in the correct order. You finally did, as you'd collapsed to the ground, the phone falling just barely out of arms reach. You shakily reached for the phone, fingertips barely brushing against it. You tried this a few more times, movements getting sloppier with each attempt. You managed to press the call button, but you found yourself unable to respond to the person on the other end, save for a few whimpers. Then, you felt your hearing shut off, as you could no longer hear the person on the other end asking if you were alright. Your entire body felt tingly, but in a sort-of good way, and you closed your eyes.  
-.-.-  
When you opened your eyes again, you were in the hospital. Your brother and father were hovering over you, your father stoic as usual, abd your brother with a mixed expression of relief and worry. He enveloped you in a hug, his tears wetting the gown that hospitals usually put their patients in. Your father just sighed and patted your hair, which made you flinch almost immediately. Your father frowned a little and withdrew his hand. You couldn't trust him after he had left you alone with your mother.

You turned your attention to your brother, who was openly sobbing on you and holding you tight. You wrapped your thin arms around him with a small smile, petting his hair like you did when you were younger and you still lived in the same house. 

You were later told that after their divorce, your mother filed a restraining order against your father, and never answered his calls. He wasn't aware of what she was doing to you. This news made you a little less untrusting of your father. You also learned that he moved himself and your brother out of state, and you were to live with them. You were okay with that. 

However, the damage had been done. You hadn't spoken in over two years, and after a few weeks of trying, they gave up trying to get you to talk. You had to stay in the hospital for a week, since you were deemed malnourished, and they had to be completely certain that the poison was completely flushed out of your system. Once you had been discharged, your father wasted no time in packing your things into the car and driving six hours to Minnesota. You had no friends to say goodbye to.  
-.-.-

You are now the Kurloz Makara that is in college. You're sitting beneath a tree and bawling your eyes out like you had promised yourself you wouldn't. You could imagine now, your father calling you a mother fucking weakass for crying. You've had enough of this bullshit. You composed yourself as well as you could, and rubbed the tears away as best as you can, and began walking back to the dorm.

You realize that you'd been out there for a few hours, as evident by the darkening sky and violent shivers that went through your body. You know that you're probably coming down with something, since you were out in the cold like an idiot for so long.

You finally made it back to your dorm to find it empty, unsurprisingly. Your phone sat on your desk where you didn't realize you'd left it. You picked it up to see that Mituna had left you twenty two voicemails and texts each, and Cronus left just about as much, if not more. You'll deal with them after you take a nice, hot shower. You grabbed a shirt, boxers, and a pair of pants to change into, and went into the bathroom, turning on the water and stripping down. You sighed softly was warm water hit you, almost instantly warming you up. You stayed in there for a good ten minutes before shutting off the water and getting out, drying yourself off. You did not bother to reapply your facepaint. 

You sent off a few quick texts to Cronus and Mituna to reassure them that, yes, you were fine, and you put in a movie to watch afterwards. The Crow was your absolute favorite movie ever, and you've seen it about a billion times. You grabbed your comforter off your bed and sat down on the couch, wrapping yourself in your blanket. 

Cronus found you passed out on the couch while the credits were rolling.


	8. Call It What You Want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kurloz has the flu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I ever get around to it, I'll link the songs to the matching chapters in the notes. Also, I may or may not start a story from Mituna's POV involving Dave. Rarepairs are the very shit of which the term is derived from. Don't worry, that last sentence didn't make much sense to me, either.

It turned out that you were more than correct when you suspected that you might have caught something. The flu is the shittiest thing to have in the world, aside from cholera (Haha illness puns). Last time you had the flu, sophmore year, Mituna had gotten beat up, since you weren't around to scare the mother fuckers away. Once you felt better, you found and kicked in their teeth. Ain't no one fucks with your best friend. Ain't no one.

What surprised you was that Cronus seemed genuinely concerned about your well-being and has decided to blow off any plans that he had in exchange to look after you. It was appreciated, but a little odd. Of course, none of this came to mind until afterwards, since your fever was hell-bent on keeping you from any real thought other than "Holy mother /fuck/ it's cold." 

You were on the couch, with multiple blankets on your person. You were aware of the sweat that coated your skin from the fever, but not much else. You felt more blankets being piled on top of you, which you assumed to be from Mituna's dorm. You heard him arguing with Cronus on how to take care of you and break the fever. Mituna is a Korean-American, and he's told you that when one has a fever, they "sweat it out". At least, that's what most Asian countries do. He's very insistent that it works like a charm.

"Quit pilin' blankets on him like that, Tuna, he's gonna suffocate!"

"Shut your st-stupid ass face, Pornus, I know what the fuck I'm doing."

"Really, now? And care to explain this?"

"He's gotta... He's gotta sweat it out, and since I am not gonna h-have sexy timez with my dudebro, this is, uh... Like the only other way."

You feel a cold rag pressed to your forehead, and then it immediately gets snatched away. 

"Are yo-you fucking STUPID?! I-I just, uh... I just told you he needs to sweat it out!!"

"You're wacky Chinese way of doing things aren't cutting it for me." 

"I'M NOT CHINESE, YOU SHITSTAIN!!" You then hear a bunch of words that you only assume to be Korean being spat at Cronus. You smile faintly and drift off to sleep, like you've been doing for the past few hours.

==> Be Cronus again

You are Cronus Ampora for now, and you just watched as your roommate's best friend slammed the door rather hard as he left. He claimed to be 2000% done with your shit, and that if Kurloz died from his flu (Which he won't. What is, this the 1300s?), he'd shove his skateboard up your ass, wheels and all. You turned to face Kurloz, who was sweaty and breathing heavily. Had this been under any other circumstances, you'd be snapping pictures to totally not jack off to later. But he has a fever and that would be wierd, and sick. You do not congratulate yourself for the illness pun.

He seems to be awake, so you kneel down next to him, eyebrows furrowed in concern. He turned his head only slightly to look at you. You managed a shaky smile.

"Heya, chief. Do you want anything to eat?" You asked him. He stared at you a few seconds more, before shaking his head. He did not seem to be hungry. You nodded, and began to remove the excess blankets off of him, thinking about how rediculous Mituna's little 'cure' was. You left his comforter on him, as well as your spare fleece blanket, which you loaned to Meenah whenever the little shit decided to crash for the night. You then reapplied a cool towel to his forehead, taking another and wiping some of the sweat off of his face. You were thankful that he didn't have that makeup on. 

You finished wiping down his face, and had gotten up to put the rag in the hamper, but a tugging at your shirt prevented you. You looked back to see Kurloz with those terrified eyes that crushed your heart the first time you saw them, and they were doing the same this time around. It appeared as though he didn't want you to leave. You sighed softly, and set the rag down as you kneeled beside him once again. People could say you were a douchebag and a shitty friend, but you only really cared about what Kurloz thought about you, and you were certainly hoping it wasn't that. Kurloz looked so child-like, staring at you through half-lidded eyes and an innocent, lazy smile on his face. You smiled back, wondering to yourself when you stopped fearing the hulking giant.

Out of nowhere, he grabbed your face, earning a yelp from you. He studied your face rather intently, before leaning in and claiming your lips okay whoa you were not expecting that. Before you had a chance to register exactly what just happened, he pulled away and laid his head down on the pillow, immediately falling asleep. 

You're pretty certain that you're redder than Kurloz is right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This feels a little short... 
> 
> Eh what the fuck ever.


	9. Nevermind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angry Kurloz is angry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to continue, but now I have upchucked this beautiful disaster. Enjoy. Chapter 9 combined!

It has been two weeks since you had kissed your roommate, Cronus Ampora, in a fit of fever-induced delerium. Of course, you have no recollection of this event transpiring. Which means you have no idea why Cronus had been acting all odd around you. He won't look you in the eyes without stumbling over his words and/or blushing a little. It was making you feel off, and when you'd put your hand up to his forhead to check his temperature, he just sorta froze right where he was. Then you flicked him on the forehead for acting funny.

Another thing he started doing was avoiding you. Not that it was a thing you minded (Actually, you minded very mother fucking much), but it was so different compared to when he almost seemed eager to spend every waking minute with you. Now, the only time you saw him was when the two of you were going to Music 101. You assumed he had a girlfriend (You very much minded that, but, you weren't sure why). You let it slide for now. Until he was out all Saturday night. 

This bullshit had to stop. You were sorta (not really) okay with it, but the second you realized he had no intentions of the Saturday-evening jam-session to happen, you were pissed. That was the one thing you were not going to let go. So, of course, on Sunday, you confronted him about it. 

::NEXT TIME TELL ME YOU'RE GONNA BLOW ME OFF TO BANG YOUR GIRLFRIEND:: 

You threw it at him much in the way you did when you first met him. You were angry and you wanted him to know that, too, the little jackass. He read over the note, and furrowed his brows. 

"I ain't gotta girlfriend, Kurloz," He said, making it your turn to be confused. "And I'm sorry I forgot, an' stuff, chief." 

You rolled your eyes, an effective way of letting him know that what he just said was complete and utter bullshit. He looked away guiltily, running a hand through his greasy hair. 

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry," He sighed out. 

::MIND TELLIN' A BROTHER WHY YOU'VE BEEN ALL AND AVOIDING ME?::

"I haven't been--" 

You smacked his shoulder to shut him up. 

::DON'T BE GOING AND SPEWING THESE HERETICAL MOTHER FUCKING LIES. YOU WILL TELL ME THE STRAIGHT-UP TRUTH::

He sighed. 

"I can't tell you why," Cronus finally said after a while. You immaturely stomped your foot out of anger, and left, with every intention to see your best mother fucking friend in the whole world.

When you were walking towards your best friend's dorm, you were expecting a day full of playing all sorts of games with him, which would keep your mind off of things, as well as calm you down. It wasn't much. But of course that was not the case. What you got was an eyeful of Mituna with his roommate's tongue down his throat and his hands in his pants. Yeah, no thank you.

They pulled apart the second they noticed you, Mituna obviously embarrassed, and Dave... you weren't too sure how he felt. 

"So, I'm not sure if you're still aware of this, but I still have yet to pick up my phone, and call a juggalo prostitute," Dave said. "Especially one who has a hard time understanding what knocking is. Oh, you poor creature, you must be so depraved, not knowing the simple pleasures of hitting your knuckles against a closed door multiple times," Dave said, which earned him a middle finger from you. Not today, Strider. You looked at Mituna, who was now cuddling a pillow.

+HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON, TUNABRO?+ 

You made a gesture towards Dave, who merely raised a brow. Mituna looked sheepish, flushing red in embarrassment.

"U-uh... A few weeks, maybe?" Mituna answered. "F-fuck, man! I dunno!" You smiled softly, and raised your hands in surrender. 

+I AIN'T ALL AND STOPPIN' YA, NOW. AS LONG AS THE LITTLE SHIT DON'T HURT YOU, I'LL BE FINE+ 

Mituna smiled, immensely relieved at your approval. "I'll tell him. So, uh, what the hell didja want?" He asked. 

+JUST WANTED TIME AWAY FROM MY ROOM, IS ALL. I'LL LEAVE YOU TWO TO YOUR... BUSINESS, AND SHIT+

With a sly smirk, you left the two to their business. The second you closed the door, your smile dropped. You had no one to vent your frustrations to. You walked outside, poorly attempting to mask your growing anger.

Once you were out of plain sight, you let out a frustrated yell, and threw a fist into the nearest tree. You ignored the sting of fresh scrapes on your knuckles and did it again. Your knuckles were bloody. You cradled your hand to your chest with a grimace. You hate it when people keep things from you. 

"Uh, sir... Are you alright?" A voice seemingly come from nowhere startled you. You turned your head to see the owner of the voice, as well as what appeared to be his girlfriend, if the way they were holding hands was anything to go by. The boy was slightly tanned, with black hair, and the bluest fucking eyes you'd ever seen behind rectangular glasses. He had a bit of an overbite, whiched caused his teeth to stick out in a rather endearing way. His girlfriend was pale where he was dark, with white-blonde hair and pale skin, almost like a porcelin doll. Her eyes were a bright vivid purple, and they stared at you with such intent and intrigue, you were very surprise you didn't feel your brain being dissected. After your analysis of the couple, you slowly nodded. The boy was about to protest, but the girl raised a dainty hand over his mouth. 

"I severely doubt the man's interest in sharing his troubles with two strangers, John. If he does not want to answer, you'd only anger him more by pushing the subject, and I'm not particularly keen on cleaning up your bloody nose," She said to "John," with a slight smirk, lowering her hand. He rolled his eyes, saying, "Alright, 'Doctor' Lalonde." 

And just like that, they left, of course after the Lalonde girl gave you a sly smile and a wave. You just stood there wondering what the hell just happened.


	10. Lump

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe I'll get around to linking the song names that match the titles. Not that the actual song would have anything to do with the chapter. I just thought it would work as a good chapter name. 
> 
> Aaaand maybe I'll stop pulling disappearing acts. 
> 
> Ha, yeah right. Chapter 10 combined!

When you return to your room, your shirt and hands were thoroughly bloodied, from you cradling your injured hand to your chest the whole way home. You ignored Cronus, who paused mid-pace (What the fuck did he have to worry about? It's not like you were his partner, or some shit) and just stared at you for a moment. He then proceeded to hover at most, like, seven feet from you, watching as you walked into the bathroom to clean off your hands and bandage up the injured one, and then took off your shirt and tossing it into the hamper. He didn't say a word, and you didn't acknowledge him. You were still very, very angry at him. The fuck does he think he is, acting all buddy-buddy with you and then out of nowhere acting all distant and awkward and not giving you an explanation as to why?! It shouldn't bother you as much as it did. 

You just barely resist the urge to punch the mirror, walking back out of the bathroom and plopping down on the couch, sighing heavily and rubbing your temples. Cronus /still/ hasn't spoken a word yet, and were you not too busy being angry at him, you would have been asking him why he was being so quiet. The chatterbox usually just talked and talked, mostly about himself, and how he couldn't seem to get chicks, and complaining about being friendzoned. Hell, though his usual topics of discussion were annoying as fuck, you rather liked hearing him talk. He had a good, strong singing voice, and though what he said with that voice wasn't pleasant, you thought it provided much better background noise than your music. All you had to do was just muffle what he was saying, and you were free to focus on whatever you were doing at the time.

Just as the silence was getting unbearable (Ironically enough, you hated silence. There always had to be something playing or talking in the background, or you'd lose your head), he finally spoke up.

"Look, I'm really sorry," He began, and you noticed he flinched when your head shot up to glare fiercely at him. He took a deep breath, and continued. "It's just... a lot of personal shit, alright? I ain't really feeling up to talkin' about it." Okay, that one, you could understand. Your gaze softened, and you nodded silently, turning your head back to glance at the wall as you thought about what could be troubling him this badly. 

"I'm going to tell you eventually, though," He said as he plopped down beside you. "Just not right now. So, wanna watch The Outsiders?" You grinned at him, nodding, your anger and frustration all fizzled down to nothing, now. At least, for now, things could go a little back to normal.

During the course of the movie, things had slightly returned to normal. Normal being a very vague term to describe your relationship with Cronus at the current moment. You could tell that he was still acting all blushy and fidgety around you. The reason why, of course, still eludes you, but he promised that there is a legitimate reason, and one day he would gather the courage to tell you. And you were okay with not knowing until the time was deemed appropriate. You did focus enough on the movie to understand it, your attention evenly divided between film and thoughts. You don't mind his apparent flusteredness around you, so long as he was not avoiding you. 

After the movie, the both of you were in silent agreement of what should happen next. Make-up jam session. You went for your bass and began tuning it, while he did the same with his guitar. It was a calming silence, save for the tuning, and later stringing together of notes to create a song. As usual, Cronus did not speak, concentrating on your fingers which seemed to work on autopilot as they strummed. You played a piece the both of you played frequently together, after Cronus admitted to liking it. If there was any tension remaining between the two of you, it was gone now, and you could tell that Cronus sensed that too. He seemed to have been tense, and hesitant, on top of his flusteredness, but you could see that he was much more relaxed, an eased smile on his face as the both of you played together. 

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end at some point, and the end of their jam session came in the form of your best friend bursting in unnanounced. 

"I'M READY FOR THe... hanging out," Mituna's voice lowered in volume as he realized that he had unintentionally interrupted something. "Sorry." 

You smiled softly and shook your head in response, setting your bass down after unplugging it. You turned off your own amp, then signed to Mituna that he was fine and he could still hang out, if he wanted. Mituna grins widely, nodding excitedly. The hickies on his neck stood in sharp contrast with the tone of his skin. Like you, Mituna was not shy about such things as his sex life.

"So, you an' Captor gonna go hang out?" Cronus asks casually as he puts his own guitar away. You frown, being able to tell that Cronus was a little disappointed to have to cut the little jam session short. You felt a little guilty, and you look between him and Mituna. Mituna was not oblivious to your thought process, and he disapproved of where it was going. 

"H-hold the FUCK up, Kurly," Mituna began, but you shot him a look that effectively shut him up. You tapped Cronus on the shoulder and gestured for him to come hang out with the both of you. He widened his eyes in surprise. You could tell he wanted to come along, and he looked between you and Mituna, biting his lower lip.

"Now, I don't wanna be somewhere I ain't wan--" You cover his mouth before he could finish trying to decline. His face was flushed as you gave him a pointed look. He nodded quickly. Satisfied, you pulled your hand away to tug on your boots, while Cronus did the same with his own shoes. Mituna grumbled and cursed as you both got ready, but you didn't care. Mituna was going to have to put up with Cronus for a few hours. You figure you'll purchase him a milkshake as an offering of appeasement later. 

Hopefully, they can both tolerate each other long enough. 


	11. Young Love pt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skateparks are rad, yo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've listened to this song that shares a name with this chapter (the one by Coheed and Cambria) then I really hope you aren't fooled.

In hindsight, you realize that you should have tried to convince Mituna to go somewhere else instead of where you two usually go to hang out. This location, of course, was a skatepark that Mituna absolutely adored. You're pretty sure that Cronus has no interest in such things. You certainly don't, but Mituna did, and therefore so did you, on the surface. You never really skated when you both went, opting either to sit at one end of the halfpipe, or on one of the benches as Mituna would try to skateboard. Despite his clumsiness, Mituna was actually fairly decent. He just liked to try the impossibly hard stunts that he knows he doesn't have the hand-eye coordination to effectively pull off. When he would give up (sometimes it took five minutes before that happened, other times it took a few hours), he would join you and you would talk with him. If it was nighttime, you both would lay down and stare up at the stars silently.

You glanced at Cronus, who was glancing around the skatepark as though he'd never been to one before. He probably actually hadn't. You pat the open spot beside you, a gesture for him to come sit with you. He did so, still glancing around. You divested some attention to Mituna, who was, as usual, practicing. You know that he is fully capable of handling himself, but that does not mean there haven't been a few incidents. You are distracted by Cronus starting to strike up a conversation, in which you gladly partake. If there was one good thing from this, it's that you have some company while Mituna does his thing. You're content to chat with him, frequently glancing over at Mituna to make sure he wasn't dead or dying. 

You manage to fill up your notecard as the two of you talk, but thankfully, you brought a spare one. And if that one fills up, then you can write on skin or on the half-pipe. Goodness knows the thing was in sore need of graffiti. By this time, Mituna had joined in. At first, he was a little reserved. But, once he decided Cronus wasn't a threat (at the moment), he warmed up rather quickly and was chatting animatedly with both you and him. He seemed to be enjoying himself, you think with a warm smile. You notice that Cronus is, as well, which makes you smile more. Once you'd made an unlikely friend from Cronus, you felt that if they could set aside their differences, they'd get along rather swimmingly. You're glad to be proven right.

None of you seemed to notice dusk settle into nighttime, but that was how it usually was. All things temporal seemed to stop working in that skatepark. It was there that you felt you could sit there forever and converse, at least until someone got hungry or cold. Mituna was the first to claim both, so the three of you got up and made your way over to an on-campus restaurant. It was a fastfood joint. Convenient for three barely-adults who were hungry and wanted food right then and there. Each of you paid for your own meals and sat down. It wasn't often that you sat down inside the fast food joint and ate in there, but Mituna was still shivering, so you figure it wouldn't harm to let the kid warm up a little more. You and Cronus sat together while Mituna had an entire side to himself. He seemed quite pleased with that.

The three of you ate and conversed and joked and generally had a lot of fun. It warmed the void where your heart should be to see that Cronus was expending effort to be patient with Mituna, and acted more forgiving than he'd ever been in his life. It was like with the two of them being all buddy buddy, you felt as though you were taking your date to meet your parents, where both Mituna and Cronus simultaneously filled the role. Mituna glanced at you with a silent nod of approval, though you weren't sure why he did that. Sometimes you swear Mituna knew you better than you knew yourself, because your immediate reaction was a slight blush and a tiny nod of thanks in return. You have no idea why you did that. It just felt right.

Had you continued with that train of thought, you'd have found that there were a lot of things you did and thought about Cronus that just felt right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always enjoyed the little character trope where said character is hardcore crushing on someone but doesn't realize it.


	12. Young Love pt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kurloz makes some rather mind-opening realizations about himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm considering going back and just 
> 
> rewriting everything 
> 
> Because writing styles tend to change drastically over a course of a year and everything else looks like shit  
> Of course nothing will be changing just yet but when I do change it I will strongly advise going back to read it

It was then that it hit you like a fucking freight truck. It was something you were aware of, but not consciously. Never consciously. But it was there. It was there, and it was strong. It didn't build up slowly, just under the surface and waiting until it was strong enough to bubble up and break the surface. It was there and it was strong the entire time. Its strength neither increased nor waned over the course of these months. Above all, it was agonizingly patient. It didn't make itself known to you. It allowed you time to become aware of its presence, waiting in the back corner of your mind but still present, still enough for your thoughts to stray in that curious way they do when you look upon someone you admire. 

But now, you are aware of its presence, painfully so. And you are aware that they'd been there for months. You were not surprised that it was there, patiently waiting for your conscious mind to catch up with your subconscious mind. The shock came in what it was. 

And what it was was that the guy you were sitting next to, the guy whose ego could rival that of Napoleon, the guy who was so fucking conscious of his appearance that one stray strand of hair was a disaster, the guy who tormented your best mother fucking friend throughout highschool, was also the guy you'd irrevocably fallen for. And that shook you to the core. 

Your face was impassive as you became aware. It was like the last piece of the puzzle had clicked in, and suddenly every stray thought, every instinctive action, every response you made that puzzled even you, made perfect sense. Of course, you idiot. You like him. You want to be around him. You want to break down that obnoxious barrier he puts up, get to the real him, the un-done him. You want him. God, do you want him. You could literally reach out and grab him if you weren't careful. The new knowledge excited your nerves, and made you edgy, but you didn't want to lose your composure in front of him, or your best friend. 

So you left. Of course, you came up with a quick lie, telling them you were supposed to meet Meulin in the library and you had just remembered (It was partly true. Meulin was studying in the library right now, and she wouldn't mind your intrusion. She'd even vouch for you if you asked). You left them with a kind good-bye and well wishes, promising Cronus he'll return in a couple of hours. You feel confident that they both suspect nothing of your revelation. And that they won't stick together very long to discuss, if anything. Just because they got along didn't mean they were friends and liked each other. 

You found Meulin rather quickly, and greeted her. She looked up, and for the barest of moments she had this profound look upon her face. It was like she understood precisely what you had just realized about yourself, and for a moment you were squeamish under her steady, knowing gaze. Then she smiled and went back to her work. You let out a deep sigh. She knew that you needed silence. You needed time to sort through everything, and she was ready to provide that for you. You love her. But not the way you used to. You love her the way you love Mituna. You cared deeply for them and you suppose that you cared deeply for Cronus, too. But this was not the same love that you felt for your best friends. 

You stayed with Meulin for a couple of hours, sifting through and coming to terms with everything. Then, you got up and left. You waved goodbye to Meulin. You walked back to your shared dormroom. Cronus was there. He looked up and smiled casually (you think your mind was reading into things too much, but you think it seemed like he was trying to make it so that he didn't seem overly eager to be around your company), waving from his spot on the sofa. He was reading a book, but which one, you weren't assed enough to find out. You tell him you're going to sleep, then strip off your jacket, shirt, socks, and shoes, and do just that. You needed to sleep on that info you discovered about yourself before actually deciding what to do about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, please try and understand  
> It was young love  
> Learning its place...
> 
> Running away


	13. Fffriends pt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An alliance is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's from Mituna's point of view. Enjoy.

You so fucking knew. Kurloz could pretend all he wants that you aren't as perceptive as you are, but you knew better. When one has been best friends for so long, you became adept at reading him. He was like an open book to you where others saw incomprehensible text. Sometimes you saw things in him well before he saw it, himself. 

This was one of those cases. You figured out early on that Kurloz was crushing hard on your then sworn enemy. It was disgusting, seeing how smitten he was with the other. But you didn't say anything about it. You knew if you had pointed out early on the curious way Kurloz acted around Cronus, or that daydreamy look he'd get which meant he was thinking about it, he would flip. He'd get anxiety attacks and become overly cautious about how he acted and you hated to see Kurloz in such a nervous state. He'd progressed so much from when you'd first met him, a trembling, scared little thing, and after the last time you'd done that, he almost completely reverted back to that. You learned the hard way that you never point out shit like that before Kurloz becomes cognizant of it on his own. 

Apparently, he just did so. You were chatting with Cronus when you noticed that subtle shift in Kurloz's demeanor. He should be thankful that you were the only one who noticed, but you're pretty sure he doesn't suspect that you knew. You didn't say anything about it. You let him go when he made up the bullshit excuse. You watched Cronus look longingly after him like he was a lost puppy. Barf. 

"Jesus sh-shit, dude," You huff, crossing your shaky limbs and looking at your no-longer-enemy-but-not-quite-friend. "Could ya-- /you/ be more obvious?" 

Cronus looks startled, and a little flustered. He tries to say something, and you expect it to be something bad now that Kurloz is gone, but he stops himself. You raise your eyebrow at this. When you were disgusted by the idea of your best friend and your enemy hooking up, you tried to reason with yourself, which helped tremendously. There must be something about Cronus that was good (aside from, and you hate to admit it, his looks) if Kurloz of all people took a non-platonic liking to him. You saw most of that when the three of you hung out today. However, that didn't mean you were about to become his close friend.

"I'd really appreciate it if you didn't tell him," Cronus finally said, looking away guiltily. "Don't want 'im to hate me, after all."

You are silent as you pretend to consider his words, already knowing you weren't gonna say jack shit. 

"As temper- tempting as making him ha-hate you is," You begin, watching his expression. "I-I won't tell."

The relieved look on his face makes you chuckle.

"In f-fact, I we-will help you woo him."

Oh gods, what have you just gotten yourself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am considering starting up another multichapter fic, this time with Mituna being the main character. Not sure with whom or why or how but it'll happen. Or maybe I'll leave it up to you guys. We'll see.

**Author's Note:**

> The only reason a chapter has more than one part would be because I've yet to get onto a computer and fix it. The DS I'm doing this on prevents me from typing out the chapters in their desired length, so they're usually split into two.


End file.
